syncline loop reversed

What's the best thing to do, on Memorial Day weekend which is historically the busiest weekend of the year for Utah's national parks?  Go hiking at Canyonlands, of course!  I wanted to do the Syncline Loop, which we last did three years ago; H suggested that we go the opposite way around this time (counter-clockwise).  We didn't add the 2-4 mile round trip side excursion into the collapsed dome so we'll have to save that for another time.

Looking down the wash ahead of us

We were up at 6 a.m. on Saturday and out the door at 7, after having fed and walked Milton, who would not be coming with us since dogs are not allowed on the trails at Canyonlands.  After a quick stop for gas, we were at the Upheaval Dome parking lot at 8 - I always forget that it takes a long time to get to the trailheads - and had our feet on the trail by 8:20 a.m.  There were a fair number of cars already in the parking lot but we didn't see anyone as we headed out the long, gradual wash; most people who come to this trailhead are just going out to the dome's overlooks.

Lots of water in the wash due to all the recent rain

The weather was just about perfect: sunny and clear, 55 F at the start of our hike and around 70 F by the time we finished.

Use caution when going down the boulder section

Since we've now done this hike in both directions, we both agree that we thought it was easier and more enjoyable going counter-clockwise (not that we disliked it the other way!), except for the boulder scramble section.  When we did it in 2016: steeply down from the plateau to the canyon floor, then a gradual climb up the wash, then a steady climb along the creek, then scrambling up the boulder section, then a long grind up the wash to the start. 

I'm standing on stone steps sunk into the hillside

This time: that long grind was a pleasant descent; the boulder section was unnerving in some spots, since we were going down; the creek section was a nice, gradual down; the wash, while exposed to the sun, seemed to go quicker; and the steep section up went very, very quickly.  Plus, everyone (about thirty other people) else we saw seemed to be going clockwise so no-one caught us.

In the wash

It did take us longer than we thought it would to get back to the trailhead from the steep up but it wasn't anywhere near as tedious as the final section had seemed in 2016.  I think the cool temperatures helped.

Working our way back up

It was very busy at the trailhead when we got back to the car but we felt no compunction about having lunch and beers while we changed out of our boots since parking spots were opening up regularly.  It made for good people watching and we appreciated several impressive parking maneuvers in tight spaces.

La Sal mountains in the distance

It was extremely busy at the Canyonlands entrance when we drove out early/mid-afternoon; there were over 130 cars lined up, waiting to get in.  And traffic in town was brutal too, bumper to bumper from before the road crossed the Colorado River.  We weren't surprised, though, we knew it would be busy this weekend.

Hike stats:  8.5 miles; 3 hours 40 minutes moving time / 2.3 m.p.h. moving average and 4 hours 39 minutes total time / 1.8 m.p.h.